Israeli jets bomb valleys and hills in south Lebanon, claim to target 'Hezbollah tunnels' | LIVE

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In a statement released on X, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, claimed that the strikes targeted "underground Hezbollah tunnels."

Israeli aircraft also carried out a strike in Zalaya, in the West Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

Israeli aircraft bombed Jarmak, west of Aaishieh (Jezzine).

Eight Palestinian athletes killed since early August, according to the Palestinian Football Association

The Palestinian Football Association announced that eight members of the sports and scouting community have been killed since the beginning of August, bringing the total number of athletes killed since the start of the Gaza war to 668, including 339 from the football community, according to Al Jazeera.

Among the latest victims are Islam Nafez Matar, a player for Al-Aqsa Club, killed on Aug. 2 while waiting for humanitarian aid in central Gaza, and Moamen Alaywa, a player for the Ittihad Al-Shujaiya reserve team, killed on Sunday in an Israeli strike.

According to the association, quoted by the Wafa news agency, other athletes killed this month include former national team star Suleiman al-Obeid, nicknamed the "Palestinian Pele," and wrestler Alaa Rafeeq al-Madhoon.

Israeli aircraft carried out two strikes on the Wadi Berghoz valley (Hasbaya).

Fighter jets also flew over Nabatieh and the eastern sector, where explosions were heard simultaneously as they passed, according to information from L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.

In response to Israel's expected approval of a key project to build 3,400 settlement homes that would split the occupied West Bank in two, the U.S. State Department said: "A stable West Bank guarantees Israel's security and is consistent with this administration's goal of achieving peace in the region," according to Haaretz.

An Israeli drone strike, firing two missiles, targeted a motorcycle in the town of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil).

According to L'Orient Today's correspondent, the target was a municipal police officer in the village where a fire broke out between the houses after the attack and ambulances were sent to the scene.

The strike left at least two people injured, one of them seriously.

Iranian supreme leader backs resumption of nuclear deal talks

Three sources close to the Iranian government told Reuters that Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, supported the resumption of negotiations on the nuclear deal and considered it essential to the regime's survival.

The sources stressed that Tehran's top leadership views negotiations with the United States as the only way to avoid further escalation, and that refusal to resume talks would lead to existential danger.

Turkey to supply weapons systems to Syria under military cooperation agreement

Turkey will supply weapons systems and logistical tools to Syria as part of a military cooperation agreement signed on Wednesday, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said, adding that Ankara would also train the Syrian army on the use of such equipment if necessary, according to Reuters.

"The protocol aims to coordinate and plan military training and cooperation, provide advisory services, share information and experiences, and ensure the acquisition of military equipment, weapons systems, logistics equipment and related services," the Turkish Defense Ministry source told reporters on Thursday, quoted by Reuters.

NATO member Turkey has been one of Syria's key foreign allies since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad last year. It has pledged to help train and restructure the Syrian armed forces, rebuild the country and its institutions, and support efforts to protect Syria's territorial integrity.

Syria: Two killed in unknown explosion, Idlib

An explosion rocked Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, leaving at least two people dead, according to official media, which did not specify the cause.

Residents told AFP they heard blasts on the western outskirts of Idlib city, the provincial capital. State news agency SANA reported “an explosion of unknown cause in the vicinity of Idlib city.”

State television, citing the Idlib Health Department, gave an "initial toll of two dead and four injured," without providing further details.

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An Israeli army patrol reportedly crossed into Lebanese territory in the Wadi Hounine area and searched and vandalized two homes on the outskirts of Odaisseh (Marjayoun), according to local residents cited by our correspondent in the South.

Gaza death toll rises as strikes and starvation continue

At least 54 Palestinians, including 22 people seeking aid, have been killed and 831 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, Al Jazeera reports.

The ministry also reported that four bodies were recovered from the rubble of earlier strikes. During the same period, at least four people died of starvation, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 239, including 106 children.

An explosion of unknown cause occurred Thursday near Idlib, Syria, and reportedly injured several people, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

UN says, violence against Alawites in Syria may amount to war crimes

The U.N. commission investigating the violence carried out by Syrian government forces against the Alawite minority in March has found the attacks to be "widespread and systematic," and in some cases, may constitute war crimes.

The commission documented cases of "killings, torture, inhumane treatment of the dead, large-scale looting, and the burning of homes," which led to the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians. These acts, it said, “include conduct that may amount to war crimes.”

Death toll in Gaza rises to 23 since dawn

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn, say sources at hospitals in the territory, Al Jazeera reports.

Among the victims were 10 people who were seeking aid, sources said.

ICC complaint filed over killings of Palestinian journalists

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against those responsible for the killing of Palestinian journalists, including Anas al-Sharif.

The complaint names several senior Israeli military figures, including Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar, Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, a general from Unit 8200, the commander of Palmachim Airbase, the commander of the "Black Snake" squadron, and Col. Avichay Adraee.

Israel kills 11 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn

According to Al Jazeera, at least 11 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since this morning.

Medical sources said eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a family home in Gaza City. Two more were killed in the Tuffah neighbourhood, also in Gaza City, and one person was killed at a Gaza Health Foundation aid distribution point.

South Lebanon: Israeli strikes and drone attack

In South Lebanon, an Israeli helicopter dropped a sound bomb near a shepherd close to Shebaa (Hasbaya district) without causing injuries.

The shepherd’s nearby parked car was also hit by an Israeli explosive. Later, an Israeli drone struck construction equipment in Yaroun (Bint Jbeil district), again causing no casualties.

Locals in Ainata confirmed the identity of the man killed in a drone strike Wednesday night between Ainata and Haris as Nasser Ghassan Nasrallah, a man in his sixties visiting Lebanon from Africa, who had lost a son in the last Hezbollah-Israel war.

Egypt condemns 'Greater Israel' ideology

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli “Greater Israel” ideology, calling for clarifications. The ministry stressed Egypt’s commitment to Middle East peace and denounced this ideology as provocative, destabilizing, and rejecting peace efforts.

This expansionist vision includes Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, much of Syria and Iraq, parts of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Israeli Foreign Minister: Recognizing a Palestinian State would be 'suicidal'

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Newsmax that accepting a Palestinian state would be “suicidal” for Israel, recalling that the 2005 Gaza withdrawal led to the rise of a large terrorist network.

Saar warned that giving Palestinians control over borders, airspace, and regional alliances would be dangerous, accusing supporters of a Palestinian state of neglecting Israel’s security.

Israeli Finance Minister to approve controversial West Bank settlement

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich plans to approve construction of over 3,000 housing units in the “E1” area, linking Jerusalem to Maale Adumim settlement.

This move would split the occupied West Bank in two and “bury the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich stated.

Netanyahu rejects political solution for Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed any political solution to the Gaza conflict during an interview with Newsmax in Jerusalem, calling it “defeat and surrender.”

Netanyahu emphasized the goal of eliminating Hamas and compared potential bombings of Gaza to the Allied bombing of Dresden in WWII, though he said population displacement is preferred.

Welcome to our live coverage of Middle East events: in Gaza, where the Israeli military continues its deadly offensive aiming to capture Gaza City, in Lebanon, where Israel continues strikes and targeted killings, and updates from Iran and Syria.

Catch up on what you missed yesterday and what to look out for today by reading our 👉 Morning Brief.